11/21/2015

Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight had a long and complicated journey to where it is now, but the next month promises to be just as interesting. The Western is being presented in 70mm format as part of a traveling "road show" event, which will require many theaters showing it to upgrade their equipment. Fortunately, The Weinstein Company is willing to shell out the dough to make that happen, at an estimated cost of up to $80K per site. But if the awards and box office come as many expect, it will have been worth it.

What should be the final poster for the film has hit, and it's a pretty clever image that shows off the cast as they trudge through a blizzard. That snowstorm figures heavily into the post-Civil War thriller about a motley group stuck together in a stagecoach stopover as tensions between them mount. Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Dern, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, Demian Bichir, and Walton Goggins lead the ensemble.

The Hateful Eight opens in 70mm on Christmas Day then expands to a more traditional release two weeks later. It's expected that screenings will begin next week in time for local critics awards, and hopefully we'll be on that list.